Pigeons
by C-Entury
Summary: A Christmas love story between Eriol and Tomoyo. Fate has given them the best gift this year: Each other.(Complete)


This Christmas story is for Gabby-chan, the only way I can give her a Christmas (what'd you think it was for, Easter?) gift. And of course, to the readers, happy holidays! /throws confetti around/

I don't own CCS, characters, or anything remotely related to it, but Christmas fills all with hope to some degree, even to this lonely author's heart!

And, I don't know how else to put this, but here…

_Every Christmastime I dread cuz'_

_I know nothing's under the tree_

_It's like the magic was never here_

And Santa's- forgotten me 

-

Now onto the story:::

-

-Pigeons-

A Christmas Love Story

Christmas eve.

"…Silver bells, silver bells…It's Christmas time…in the city…"

Tomoyo caught the strains of a beautiful song threading its way through the slightly chilly December air. It filled her heart with a longing to add her own voice to the music. Whenever she heard music, it was as if her heart beckoned, to take part in one of the few joys in her life. Her mother would not be home until late tonight.

"Ring a ling, ring a ling, hear them sing…Soon it will be…Christmas day…" she sang, a little absent-mindedly, wandering through the park, her beautiful voice ringing clear, when she felt someone perch on her shoulders, leaning gently on her.

"Guess who?" came a soft, happy voice. "Mmm…shouldn't be too hard to guess," laughed Tomoyo. "By the way, have you seen my best friend around somewhere?"

"Who else would it be, but your little friend, me, Sakura Kinomoto, on your shoulder? Don't tell me you've gone and gotten another best friend!" Sakura said, feigning hurt.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, we will-" Tomoyo automatically started intoning.

"-always be best friends, " finished Sakura. "Merry Christmas Eve. By the way, what are you doing wandering through the park anyway, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Feeding the pigeons. Their Christmas present, you know," she said, gesturing to the bag of bird feed hanging loosely in her hand. Then a faint blush crept into her pale cheeks. "And thinking about someone," she mumbled, trailing into silence.

Tomoyo turned suddenly to face the beautiful emerald-eyed girl she once loved. "Sakura-chan…" she said hesitantly. "Remember when you told me you knew…that I thought I had…um…feelings for you? And you told me that you weren't the right person for me, and that I would find someone else?"

Sakura nodded. That was the day she couldn't take the not so secret looks her best friend gave her anymore, especially since she knew she wasn't the one Tomoyo really loved. She found herself echoing Yukito-san, and she suspected Yukito-san had known she was in love with Syaoran, though she didn't know it, as she knew Tomoyo really loved another.

Her blush intensified, so that her normally porcelain cheeks were a rosy pink.

"I think I have feelings for another."

-

Eriol was smiling his usual, elfin smile. But behind the smile, behind the glasses, the soul and eyes were shining with something increasingly out of character for Eriol: he felt, for once in many, many years, during this time of year, _hope_. For ages nothing had stirred his heart to hope, much less than the other feeling he was burning with, despite the winter chill.

Love.

Yes. Eriol was in love, something he had never felt before. And it was no other than Tomoyo-chan who held his heart in her palm.

The beautiful dark haired angel visited his dreams every night. But by morning light, she would disappear, leaving an ache in the young sorcerer's heart. For she was not his, but Sakura-chan's.

But this year was different. Fate had given him the most wonderful gift of all: a chance with Tomoyo.

The Mistress of the Cards a.k.a. Sakura Kinomoto had winked at him and whispered in his ears: "All clear, Eriol-kun." She left him in quite a daze. The daze lasted for a long time.

A very long time.

And after that, everything just seemed to conspire to help him in his quest for his fair lady's heart.

Just yesterday, he had found the perfect gift for Tomoyo-chan, a tiny angel dangling from a white gold chain. How fitting it was to give his angel an angel!

So this day, he walked down the streets of Tomoeda, a real smile at the edge of his lips. At the park, he thought he heard something. Tomoyo was singing.

As the wind carried the sound of her voice to him, he stopped, hidden among the trees, to listen to her beautiful voice. He smiled, a genuine smile this time. He longed to step out from his hiding place and clasp her to his chest, to stroke the beautiful raven hair, and to tell her he loved her, with all his heart. He brushed away dark blue locks to peer closer at his angel.

He saw a slender figure run up and hug Tomoyo. He felt slightly jealous, wishing it could be his arms instead. But he reminded himself that it was Saku-chan, and he felt the jealousy die down a little. A little.

He watched them talk. He watched Tomoyo blush, a flush that adorned her face prettily. How he hoped it was not because of a crush she had on some other guy. Not after all the pain he went through. He stayed rooted to his spot, watching the girls run off and out the park. The bird feed laid on the ground, forgotten. When they disappeared, out of sight, he emerged, slightly stiff, to retrieve the bird feed.

He decided to feed the poor birds trying to peck open the bag.

-

"Oh no, I forgot my bird feed!"

-

He scattered the grain on the ground, sitting lazily on the park bench, watching the birds peck around him. He paid no attention though, mindlessly tossing the feed on the floor, thinking of Tomoyo.

An old man came up to him. Sitting on the edge of the bench, his strong features weather-beaten and aged, he came up with a handful of bird feed from nowhere and tossed it in front of him. Immediately, all the pigeons flocked to him, many perching on the chair next to him.

This caught Eriol's attention.

He stared curiously at the old man; the old man stared at the sixteen-year-old, directly in the eye. Eriol had the feeling that he knew the old man. He shifted uncomfortably. The old man's hazel gaze met Eriol's slate one. Eriol broke the gaze and stared down at the pavement.

"You're in love. Don't speak," he commanded to the sputtering Eriol. "You're used to shoving aside joy. And then you won't find the courage to give her the angel in your pocket. Take chances, Eriol of England. Clow would have. And you should too. Remember, love conquers all. Follow your heart."

When Eriol looked up sharply, the old man was gone.

"Yes, I _do_ love Tomoyo. And I _will_ give her my gift."

He heard a gasp behind him. _Not another surprise_. He groaned inwardly. When he turned around, he saw Tomoyo. She turned on her heels and ran to the Daidouji mansion as quickly as she could.

"Follow your heart." A voice whispered from the skies.

Eriol considered this, then started running after her. He wasn't going to lose her _this_ afternoon, of all days. And that's when he realized he's never been to the Daidouji mansion in the whole six years he knew her.

Just when he was about to start bashing his head against the nearest hard thing, Sakura ran up, her auburn hair flying behind her.

"Come on," she urged, as soon as she understood the situation.

"Why are you helping me?" he called to her, being dragged by the hand by a very fast Sakura. "'Cause I love you both, duh! And you're lucky that I ditched my boyfriend (not that he liked it) to help Tomoyo-chan!"

"On what?"

"Did you forget? The Christmas party we were all invited to?"

"Oh. OH!"

"Men…" she muttered.

-

Tomoyo's heart was racing. Oh, why'd she run? She _did_ love him.

_Because you were scared_.

"Oh, why'd I have to run?!?"

-

Tomoyo stayed in the dark doorway awhile, until it finally entered her head to turn on the lights. She was greeted with lively decorations that hung from the high ceilings of the Daidouji mansion, plenty of mistletoe hanging about, with hidden cameras buried in decorations (she had yet to capture Sakura and Syaoran kissing on film). The brilliant silver and gold angels and tinsel glittered on the fresk evergreen tree. Normally, Tomoyo found it beautiful, but that was before the totally forgotten-the-party-I'm-supposed-to-be-hosting thing.

'Oh, no…' she wailed internally. Thank god she had a legion of servants.

The Daidouji household became a bustling hive, with the occasional scream of "Cook! Clean! Prepare!" coming from the frantic hostess-to-be.

Half an hour later, she collapsed in the chair. All was done. Now, she only had to dress.

-"This dress is perfect for you!" Sakura exclaimed happily. "If you say so, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said uneasily, looking into the mirror uncertainly. She did like the 'swishy' feeling of the soft silver material around her feet though. Apparently Sakura liked it too. "It's SWISHY, Tomoyo-chan!" she laughed childishly. Then, becoming serious, she pleaded with the still uncertain girl. "Come on, Tomo-chan. It's beautiful." Tomoyo looked at the violet trimming, the soft silver material, and her best friend's pleading eyes. The next day, the dress hung not in the store window, but Tomoyo's closet. -

She looked at herself in the mirror once more. Her neck seemed very bare, but she had nothing to adorn it. She put on her earrings, and went to wait for her guests.

-

The old man smiled. Eriol would be forever grateful that he made the decision to announce his love.

He pulled out a snow globe and smiled at the scenes of Tomoyo, Sakura and Eriol, and Syaoran. They had done so much for the fate of the world. He looked up to the sky and stared at the Christmas Eve moon as the pigeons flocked around him.

-

Sakura and Eriol made it to the Daidouji, practically running over a little old lady, almost getting run over themselves by a car, to find Syaoran standing before the Daidouji gate, waiting for them. "Oh, so you _did_ come early," panted Sakura, though she was smiling. He gave her a quick kiss and she whispered, "Does that mean you forgive me for ditching you?"

Before he could answer, "Oh, can you do me a favor Syao? _I _am the one who needs to help Tomoyo-chan, remember? So you can wait here with Eriol-kun until its actually time to go and 'arrive'!"

She left her slightly cross boyfriend as she disappeared past the gate. Eriol turned to Syaoran. "So how are you, _my dear little descendant_?"

And Syaoran's thoughts? _Sakura. You. Are. Going. To. Pay._

-

"Tomoyo-chan! You're beautiful" Sakura squealed after she greeted her best friend. "If you say," Tomoyo repeated. "Eriol thinks so too, don't worry," she teased. Tomoyo blushed a deep crimson color.

"Come on Tomoyo, they should be here…right…about now…"

Ding dong!

"You know, Saku-chan," Tomoyo mumbled, ever smiling, "sometimes I think there is an absolute conspiracy…"

"Hey guys!"

"Hey Sakura, Tomoyo," they chorused in unison. "Conspiracy…" Tomoyo said again.

The boys looked puzzled. Sakura smiled mysteriously.

"Me and Syaoran are just going to get the gifts you left upstairs! They have to be under the tree you know!"

She dragged Syaoran up the stairs. "And I'm sure that some gifts can be given tonight!" she called over her boyfriend's grumbling. Eriol colored red. That was basically Sakura shouting HINT! HINT!

-

Tomoyo turned to Eriol.

"Um, come in Eriol-kun?" she murmured softly, suddenly feeling very shy.

He extended his arm and, blushing, Tomoyo took it and together they walked into her living room.

When they sat down, the silence was awkward.

Finally, Eriol, who could take it no longer, spoke. "Tomoyo-chan? Today at the park, what I said…what I meant…" When he found he did not know what to say, he stood up, and took the angel out of his pocket. "For you."

Tomoyo looked at the chain and the beautiful angel, and slowly moved to put it on. She was stopped by Eriol's hands on her, gesturing that he wanted to put it on her. So she held quite still when he put it on, shivering when his hand brushed the back of her neck.

"Th-Thank you, Eriol-kun," she stammered, once again the rosy blush flooding her cheeks.

"What I said at the park, it …it was all true, Tomoyo! I can't stop thinking about you and I dream about you, every night, and now…finally I thought I had a chance…what I'm trying to say…is…I love you."

Tomoyo hardly dared to look up at his anxious face, she was so happy. _Please let this not be a dream_. When she did, Eriol saw her eyes brimming with joyful tears and she flung her arms around his neck. "You don't know how much I wanted you to say that," she breathed into his ear. "Shouldn't we kiss?" asked Eriol, pointing up. It was the mistletoe she had hung.

She smiled shyly and nodded. They kissed.

-

On the staircase

"And she thought I was going to be the one caught on tape kissing a guy under her mistletoe!" whispered Sakura triumphantly. "Hmm, really? I wouldn't say that's not going to happen…" Syaoran said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Time for payback…leaving me with Er-"

He shut up when Sakura kissed him.

-

"I love you too, Eriol," Tomoyo said, contentedly in his lap. "I know." He smiled, caressing the raven locks that he had dreamed about so often. His angel, forever and longer.

-

The old man had vanished off the face of the earth. Nowhere could he be found, if anyone had been looking for him.

Instead, a lone pigeon flew through the Christmas sky.

-

Thanks, gabby-chan (peek at her stuff at: amethyst sweet angel), no matter how much you deny it, you're awesome! Happy holidays all! - Thanks for reading this. Merry Christmas. "Follow your heart."

Hugs and kisses for all!

-

_Maybe Santa hasn't forgotten me after all._

-

- C-Entury, December 2004


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